Welcome to the first Newsletter of 2012
This season the newsletter will contain regular sections such as a weekly quiz, the background to a specific seed variety, a product review, tomato growing information and tips and a weekly questions and answers section.
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Choosing Tomato Varieties
At this time of the season, browsing the seed brochures and deciding which varieties to grow is one of the great pleasures for me, and I guess most of us who love to grow tomatoes!
With lessons learned from last season, avoiding problems before they happen is the key to success this season. read more…
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Talking Tomatoes – Your experiences…
This week – Pam, who grew tomatoes for the first time last season, tells us how she was eating her own toms from July through to the end of November with just two bush tomato plants! read more…
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A Look at Propagators – Do I really need one?
Is a propagator, electric or unheated, a “must have” item,
helpful or unnecessary?
A look at some of the pro’s and con’s will help you decide. read more …
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A Bit of Tomato History – American Style!
American TV’s Lauren Thom explains the history behind the fruit/vegetable controversy and also why people originally thought the tomato was deadly.
I must stop eating tomatoes with my best pewter!
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This Week’s Quiz
To get started, here’s a quiz that’s not too difficult and based on the video above.
It’s best to watch the video first!
[mtouchquiz 2]
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Join In The Discussion!
Do let me know if you have any ideas or would like to make a contribution in some way. Free seeds if you tell of your tomato growing experiences or have an interesting story to share – please email me here.
Comments can take place at Facebook or in the comments section below.
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KEVIN
Hi Nick iv’e got 3 hens and i am going to use all the waste well composted down can i mix it with water and water the tom’s
Mr M H Develin
Hi Nick,
I have had to prepare my poly tunnel already to plant my tomatoes, because I am due to go into hospital for a second hip operation soon, just 3 months after my first hip op,
But getting back to tomatoes that is the reason for early prep, my idea thios year is to plant in bottomless sunken pots 12″ ones, get the staked ready to plant, because when the time comes all will be ready and my efforts will be limited to what I can do without help, I was thinking of dressing the soil at the bottom of the sunken pots with a little Fish blood and bone, then adding a little compost before planting my young plants well down in the pots, and topping up with compost as they get taller, would the fish bl & bone be too much for the young plants at that stage. I do grow most of my tomatoes on grafted stock, hence taking out the pot bottoms.
Nick
Hi Harold,
Sorry for the delay in replying.
What you suggest sounds very good to me. I think that the fb&b will be fine if modestly applied, and the opportunity for extra growth below and above, should keep your plants going well into the Autumn.
Best wishes for the hip operation and please let us know how you get on – hip and tomatoes!
Regards,
Nick
Derek Richards
Absolutely brilliant as always…. Thanks
Nick
Thanks Derek!
Demy
Hi Nick
I’m a new subscriber and really looking forward to growing tomatoes for the first time! I wanted to grow them in hanging baskets and recently received 2 free packs of Gardener’s Delight from Which magazine. Should I use these to start with or a cherry variery? Also, what compost (from where?) would you reccommend I use. Should I wait until March to sow the seeds in my conservatory? Thanks so much, Demy
Nick
Hi Demy, I suggest you grow Tumbling Tom or other trailing variety in hanging baskets. Gardener’s Delight is a tall variety and best grown in grow bags at ground level. Any good quality multi-purpose compost from the garden centre is fine – you can buy compost for hanging baskets that contains water retaining gel so the baskets won’t dry out so quickly. Best to wait until March to sow seeds (indoors) because light levels are a bit too low at the moment – plants may become too leggy as they search for light.
Best wishes,
Nick
George
To grow tomatoes outside in grow bags,what is the best compost mix ratio. What is the best time to plant outside . I live in Ilkley West Yorkshire (Northern ish UK.)
Nick
Hi George, buy the best quality grow bags and then add a handful of perlite to the compost just below the root areas of each plant – two per bag. I also add water retaining gel if growing large varieties but the trick is to foliar feed to get the best results – too many nutrients in the soil can cause all sorts of problems!
If you’ve made your own compost, go easy when adding to grow bag soil as too much nitrogen may have an effect on flowering and fruiting if the plants are at the budding stage.
In your area I would sow at the end of March indoors to plant outside the beginning of June.
Cheers,
Nick